By: Rukhshana Media
The Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Vice and Promotion of Virtue has announced new guidelines, warning if women don’t wear full veil when they leave home they themselves and their male relatives would be punished.
Burqa has been defined as the “best” hijab, and other clothes and scarves which cover from head-to-toe and don’t expose women’s body curves are also accepted as hijab, according to the guidelines announced by the Taliban on Saturday, May 7.
The women who don’t wear “proper hijab” and their male “guardians” would be prosecuted, imprisoned, and punished.
The female government employees who violate the new restrictions would be fired immediately. And the male government employees whose wives and daughters don’t wear full veil would be suspended.
The new guidelines strongly recommends women to not leave home if not necessary.
The Taliban’s new draconian restrictions drew widespread condemnation from the Afghan women and international community.
Nafisa Bahar, a 29-year-old woman in Kabul, said compulsory hijab is a kind of violence against women. She accused the Taliban of trying to eliminate women from society.
She said she is against “compulsory hijab” and that the Taliban are actually making people “hate” Islam by imposing these restrictions.
“I do not like to wear black hijab and I never wear a burqa,” she said.
Forough Rezai, a 23-year-old woman, said she opposes the Taliban’s decision because she “has never worn a burqa” in her entire life, and that she doesn’t feel comfortable wearing it in the future.
The United Nations Assistance Missions in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement that it is “deeply concerned” about the new guidelines which “contradicts” the Taliban’s past assurances that they would respect the human rights of Afghans.
“UNAMA will immediately request meetings with the Taliban de facto authorities to seek clarification on the status of this decision,” the statement said.
The Taliban have imposed numerous restrictions on women since they took power last year. Millions of girls are out of school. Women aren’t allowed to travel long distances without a male companion. Most working women haven’t been allowed to return to work.
